I was very honored to be selected as a Tableau Ambassador for the second time in 2021. If you follow this link, you’ll see me Anthony Smoak, suited up in the Tableau Public Ambassadors section. I started this blog and YouTube channel as a means to share what I know and what I learn and will continue to do so. The fact that I gain some recognition from Tableau or anyone else is secondary, but I will say it does feel good to be acknowledged by the wider Tableau community for all the off-hours and weekend work it takes to produce stellar content.
I don’t share 10 videos in a week. I have to research what to share, put together a dashboard to illustrate the concepts and record and edit everything all in my “spare” time. Who has any of that these days when we’re all feeling worn out? However, this blog is worth it for me because it forces me to learn and I have grown tremendously since I started this social media sharing journey some years ago.
I mention all of this to simply say thanks for following me and whoever keeps nominating me as an ambassador every year, I’m not mad at you!
One of the cool aspects of being selected as a Tableau ambassador is the swag you receive. Definitely watch the video as I will share an unboxing of this year’s swag for those that are curious.
In the words of the legendary Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest , “So give me this award, and let’s not make it the last.”
This post is for everyone who has ever asked, “How do you create an interactive resume in Tableau?” If you’re looking to get noticed as a Tableau visualization developer / subject matter expect, then building out an interactive resume using Tableau is a great place to start. It is a good starter visualization to build because you already have all the data! The data is inherently about you, but you just need some inspiration on how to get started building out your resume.
That’s where I come in, to share with you a place to start for inspiration, and direction on how to build out a few charts I leveraged to construct my interactive resume.
Where to Get Inspired
The first place you want to start looking for interactive Tableau resume inspiration is the Tableau Public Resume Gallery. The Tableau community has done an excellent job of sharing resumes so you don’t have to start from scratch with respect to idea generation. As I was looking through the gallery, I started to notice that most of the resumes had some common DNA, most notably a timeline chart (either linear or Gantt chart) and an abacas chart (both of which I will show you how to build in the video).
My resume is inspired by offerings from both Ann Jackson and Lindsay Betzendahl. When you look through the gallery you may find a resume that fits your personal vision. I’m sure you’ll use a few of the techniques I’m going to share as well.
You can also do a simple google image search on “Tableau Interactive Resume” and you’ll find additional images that link to resources that are not on the official Tableau Public Resume Gallery.
Format Your Data
In order to build out the necessary charts to support your resume, you’ll use Excel to format the data. I cover the format for both the timeline chart and the abacas chart in the video, but below is a sneak peek of how I formatted my data for the abacas skills chart.
The data above supports the buildout for two separate abacas charts. One chart is for a self-rating of my skills (rows 2-6), while the other chart is a representation of LinkedIn endorsements (7-11).
Column E represents the maximum value of the skill that I want to present on the abacas chart. Since I was self-rating my skills from a scale of 1 to 5, then 5 was the maximum value represented. For the LinkedIn endorsements, 51 was the highest number I received, thus for all rows supporting this chart, 51 was the maximum value.
Gantt Chart
Every resume needs a timeline! Although I describe how to build a single linear timeline chart in the video above, I have another video that explains how to build a Gannt chart in Tableau. For some of our experiences, we have more than one activity happening at the same time, thus the following video will help in your resume build out as well.
Remember that we all have a story to tell and an interactive resume in Tableau will help you share your experiences and get noticed if done well. Good luck!
All views and opinions are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
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Thank you!!
Anthony B Smoak
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When I am focusing hard during the day at work or developing visualizations on the weekend. I use Brain.fm to help me focus when it matters. It’s Science-driven and research-backed functional music designed from the ground up to help you you focus, relax, meditate and sleep. If you’d like to try a free trial check out https://brain.fm/anthonyb
Please use coupon code anthonyb for a 20% discount upon checkout. It helps support this blog and my YouTube channel as I receive a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.
Let’s fix the “Reset All Filters” button in Tableau! Sometimes when we create the Reset All Filters button in Tableau, it doesn’t initially work. In this video and post I will troubleshoot a few of the reasons for the lack of functionality and get you and your dashboard up and running.
If you need a refresher on how to reset all filters in Tableau, make sure to check out this video first.
The inspiration for this post comes from the following dashboard I built for the Real World Fake Data (#RWFD) initiative spearheaded by Mark Bradbourne at Tableau. Mark was kind enough to include my dashboard on his recap of top submissions for this particular challenge. You can interact with the dashboard on my Tableau Public gallery here.
The dashboard above utilizes the reset all filters technique, but I initially ran into an issue when trying to get the technique to work. Here is the first area you should check if you run into issues.
SOURCE SHEETS / TARGET SHEETS
On your dashboard, Select Actions (or CTRL+SHIFT+D), and then edit your Reset All Filters action.
Once you select [Edit] for the dashboard action, make sure that your Reset Filters action is the only selection for your [Source Sheets]. Also make sure that all other sheets on the dashboard that you want to remove filters from are selected on [Target Sheets] EXCEPT for your Reset Filters action. See the figure below.
TARGET FILTERS
Additionally, double check to make sure that you have all of your necessary fields selected in the [Target Filters] section that you want to remove as a filter. I have found that selecting the [All Fields] option never works. I’ll repeat, double check that every field you want to reset appears as a target filter. If it is not there, then simply add it by selecting [Add Filter].
In my my particular circumstance, I did have all of the fields selected in the [Target Filters] section that were required to reset all filters, so I had to keep looking for answers. Let’s move to step 3 in the process.
VISUAL CUES FOR FILTERS
In your workbook, I want you to hunt down any filters that are applied to ALL WORKSHEETS with the same data source. From the Tableau knowledge base, here is a screenshot of the icons applied to fields on the Filters shelf. On your worksheets, look for the cylindrical database icon next to any filters. We will further investigate these filters.
Where you see the cylinder next to any Filters on your worksheets, change the [Apply to Worksheets] option from [All Using This Data Source] to [Selected Worksheets…]. In my case, the offending icon was next to the [Location City] filter.
This next step is key. Make sure to UNCHECK the Reset Filters Worksheet. Your filter should not be applied to the same worksheet that is used to display the Reset All Filters button.
Once you’ve unchecked the Reset Filters worksheet your icon next to the filter will change to the following.
Go back to your dashboard and test to make sure that your reset all filters button functionality works. In my case, the above trick was successful for me. I’m sure it will be for you as well.
Make sure to watch the video below as I step through the checks.
All views and opinions are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
INCREASE YOUR FOCUS TRY BRAIN.FM
When I am focusing hard during the day at work or developing visualizations on the weekend. I use Brain.fm to help me focus when it matters. It’s Science-driven and research-backed functional music designed from the ground up to help you you focus, relax, meditate and sleep. If you’d like to try a free trial check out https://brain.fm/anthonyb
Please use coupon code anthonyb for a 20% discount upon checkout. It helps support this blog and my YouTube channel as I receive a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.
In this video I will provide a method in which you can place your bar chart labels above the bars in Tableau. This technique is based off Adolfo Hernandez’s technique with a little more explanation and additional alternatives for the zero line. Make sure to add this to your bar chart repertoire!
If you want to follow-along with the video, you can download the data at this link:
I recently ran into the issue of not being able to color a dimensional value because my data did not yet contain that specific value. What I learned through trial and error is that I needed to change the calculated field I was using to force an expected value so I could color it appropriately.
I then had to change my calculated field back to what it was originally and hope that Tableau would remember the color. It would be nice if Tableau had a native built in interface to allow users to assign colors to expected values (regardless if the values are currently in the data), but this feature is not available in Tableau (looking at you very talented developers at Tableau).
Watch the Solution:
I created a calculated field with expected outcomes of “Bad”, “Normal” and “Great” based upon numerical profit data. The profit data I had did not support the “Great” value. Thus I had to doctor my calculated field to force the value and then color it. I didn’t know if Tableau would remember my color selection if I changed the calculated field and then changed it back, but it did.
The Forums:
Don’t worry, you are not the only one looking for a solution to this issue. Here are some Tableau forum links that basically ask the same questions.
Hopefully this post helped you in your search to color those non-existing values. For many of us, not all potential values are available in our data sources, and we many not have access to the underlying source data. Having a nice UI means to assign expected values in advance would be extremely useful.
The Dashboard:
I certainly love to develop new dashboards to test out functionality. I built this one to test out a few Ryan Sleeper dashboard tips. Make sure to download the dashboard .twbx file from from my Tableau Public profile (Anthony B Smoak) for free!
Are you looking for the next viz to showcase on your Tableau Public page? In this video I will teach you a technique that spices up the humble stacked bar chart with dynamic totals (using Tableau Set Actions). We will build out the viz step by step with Superstore data.
Stacked Bar Chart with Dynamic Totals
This chart is powered by Tableau Superstore data which is a data set that is readily available on the internet and is packaged as the default data set with Tableau. As you select the three legend categories at the top of the visual, the stacked bar chart sections will appear or disappear. The totals will also automatically update based upon your selection.
How cool is that!!??
I have to give a shoutout to Dorian Banutoiu for originating this technique. A few years ago, Dorian used this technique in a Makeover Monday exercise and it recently caught my attention when I was checking out his Tableau Public page. I immediately attempted to reverse engineer the technique (which admittedly took some effort).
Because I wanted to enable everyone with Tableau and/or Tableau Public to duplicate the chart, I used Tableau Superstore data as my foundation. Make sure to give Dorian a Twitter follow at @canonicalizedco.
What’s In it for You?
By following along with the video, you will utilize multiple Tableau elements such as:
Practice makes perfect so this will be a good opportunity for you to practice multiple Tableau elements with the creation of one visualization. You can click the links on the list above to see additional videos that cover respective areas.
Give Credit
If you do reproduce this visualization step by step or leverage the technique for your Tableau Public page or Linkedin Page, please link to this post or the YouTube video and place “Inspired by Dorian Banutoiu & Anthony Smoak” somewhere on the viz and post text.
Interact with the Finished Visualization
You can interact with the finished visualization on my Tableau Public page here:
I worked hard to create a Tableau dashboard packed with multiple features that any beginner or intermediate user should know how to complete. Use this dashboard as an inspiration regarding techniques to learn for your next Tableau dashboard.
Here are a few of the features included in this dashboard:
Parameters
Dynamic Titles
KPIs
Filters
Context Filters
Top 5 by Dimension
Highlight Actions
Filter Actions
Ranking
Show/Hide Containers
Image Buttons
Parameter Driven Chart Swap
Maps
Shape Files
Reset All Filters
Combo Chart / Dual Axis Chart (Bar in Bar)
Quick Table Calculations
Bullet Chart
Animations
Containerized Dashboard Layout
Because I love to teach in my relatively spare time, I am considering offering 1 on 1 training to learn how to put together this sample dashboard. As I mention in the video, leave a comment with your thoughts on how much of an investment you think someone would make for 3 hours of 1 on 1 training to build this together. Someone would definitely impress their manager or future hiring manager if they had the knowledge to build this type of front end reporting.
In this video I kickstart the #VizznessFirst initiative where I describe a Tableau Dashboard I constructed using multiple resources from the Tableau #datafam community. Invest your valuable time in watching the videos as it will be worth the investment if you’re looking to pick up some new skills.
I describe the dashboard, show you the resources and then you attempt to build it. This is a perfect intermediate/advanced dashboard idea starter for students looking to improve their Tableau skills.
Background
Let’s start with a little background on how this initiative came together. I am a big fan of the Real World Fake Data (i.e., RWFD) project run by Mark Bradbourne at Tableau. I wanted to finally get involved and put together a dashboard and hopefully learn something new.
Because the particular data set used (Week 5: Help Desk) had very few measures to sum or aggregate; this left counting rows as the most informative means to squeeze some meaning from the data.
I stumbled upon an excellent blog post from Tableau Zen Master Lindsay Betzendahl where she explained a technique to highlight when a “filter” has been activated with a small indicator. I reversed engineered her dashboard to try and tease out how to pull this off with the RWFD data set.
In addition to this technique, I mashed up some other techniques from various members of the Tableau community. One of the great things that I enjoy about the Tableau community is that there are many creators who put out great content for others to learn from; whether it be videos, blog posts, PowerPoint slides, etc.
Once I had a dashboard I was proud of sharing. I figured I would release it as a series to try and teach others some of these techniques. The 3 videos in this series is the culmination of that effort.
VIDEO 1: Overview of the Project and Resources Required
Here are the references I used to put together the dashboard.
Data File: REAL WORLD FAKE DATA DATSET #5 (HELP DESK)
Make sure to watch Video 2 above because this is where I explain the main technique required to complete the dashboard.
VIDEO 3: STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS (TABLE TRICKS)
Video three rounds out the series by demonstrating a cool trick that enables you to build a filter button that opens a detailed table dashboard populated with only the records of interest from the first page. Yes, it uses a filter action but there is twist. Make sure to check it out.
In this video I’ll show you how to show and hide containers in Tableau at the push of a button. This makes for a convenient way to increase space for your dashboard while hiding your filters or switching to an additional hidden chart until needed.
If you’re not using at least Tableau 2019.2.0, then you need to run over to your I.T. department and have them set you up. In previous versions of Tableau you could achieve this effect, but you would have to implement a hacky methodology in order to pull it off. Although I love a good hack, we should all strive to work smarter not harder.
The key to pulling off the show/hide container is to add a floating horizontal or floating vertical container to your dashboard. Only once you’ve taken this step can you see the option to “Add Show/Hide Button”.
Once you’ve selected this option, any new sheets, filters or other objects you wish to place in your container are enabled to appear or disappear at the press of a button.
An “X” marks the spot as this default customizable icon will appear. You can replace this image with text or use your own customizable image in its place.
As a reminder, (from the Tableau Knowledge Base) these options “will not be available if the sheet is not on a horizontal or vertical container and that container is not floating.”
In lieu of the default show/hide icons, in the video we will use buttons from a template provided by Kevin Flerlage. Do yourself a favor and head on over to the Flerlage Twins blog and download this handy resource.
Make sure to give your filters and charts the “Personal Space” they need! Rick and Morty aficionados know exactly what I’m talking about.
For the Power BI curious, here is how a similar process is conducted, where the filters (ahem) slicers are hidden at the touch of a button.
All views and opinions are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
Do Great Things with Your Data!
Anthony B. Smoak, CBIP
In all seriousness, the world lost an icon of baseball and civil rights as of the recording of this video; Mr. Hank Aaron. I live in Atlanta so I have to pay my respects with a shout out to Hammering Hank. Rest in Peace #44.
When the data goes high, you can go low; to misquote a common saying. In this video I’ll show you how to start at a region level on your Tableau map and then drill into the State.
If you’re using the Tableau Superstore data set, make sure the Region and State fields are assigned to a geographic role. Most likely you will need to change the Region to a geographic role, which is created from the State field.
At a high level we’ll have a dual axis based upon the latitude, with the top latitude displaying the regions and the bottom latitude displaying the state. When we layer them on top of each other, we begin to create the illusion of the drill.
We’ll use a parameter creatively named [Region Parameter] which contains all of the regions. From there we’ll create a calculated field named [_States to show] as follows:
If [Region]=[Region Parameter] Then [State] END
In order to institute the drill, we’ll create a worksheet parameter action that will change the value of the region parameter on user selection. This causes the clause (If [Region]=[Region Parameter]) to evaluate to TRUE which then causes the display to show the states for the selected region.
It sounds more complicated than it is, so just make sure to watch the video for understanding and clarity.
As a bonus, I’ll show you how to achieve this effect where the selected region does not cause the other regions to gray out. Notice on the second map how all the non selected regions do not lose emphasis; this is not the default effect. It’s the little “show-off” details like this that can up your Tableau game. You’re welcome!
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All views and opinions are solely my own and do NOT necessarily reflect those of my employer.
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